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Demonstrators in Warsaw: "We have a right to the truth"
Photo: Radek Pietruszka / EPA
Tens of thousands protested against a controversial new broadcasting law in Poland on Sunday.
From the point of view of critics, it could restrict the freedom of the press.
In Warsaw, demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential palace.
They carried posters with slogans such as "Free media, free people, free Poland" and "We have a right to the truth".
There were also protests in Gdansk, Szczecin, Poznan, Krakow and many other cities.
The police and organizers did not name the exact number of participants.
Several speakers criticized the law on Sunday as an attack on freedom of the press and the pillars of democracy.
Jaroslaw Kurski, one of the editors-in-chief of the liberal and government-critical daily Wyborcza accused the ruling PiS party of wanting to silence independent media in order to secure victory in the next elections in 2023.
President Duda has to decide
Parliament passed the amended law on Friday.
The decision now rests with President Andrzej Duda.
He has hinted that he could veto the law.
The change provides that in future broadcasting licenses in Poland may only be issued to foreigners if they "have their headquarters or their place of residence in the European Economic Area".
In addition, the condition applies that the licensee must not be dependent on someone who has headquarters or residence outside of this economic area.
According to critics, the law targets the private broadcaster TVN, which is part of the US group Discovery through a holding company registered in the Netherlands.
The news channel TVN24 takes a critical line against the ruling party PiS.
The law has also met with opposition from the US government.
According to the State Department in Washington, they are "deeply concerned" about passages that "undermine freedom of expression, weaken freedom of the press and undermine the confidence of foreign investors in their property rights."
The US encouraged Duda to defend the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution.
hpp / dpa
